Ben Sandford Inducted into the WOA's Olympian for Life Programme
Ben Sandford has received the honour of a lifetime, a prestigious award by the World Olympians Association (WOA).Each Olympics, the WOA chooses five Olympians for the award, one from each continent, recognizing them for using their Olympic experience to make the world a better place by promoting Olympic values at every stage of their lives.
Ben represented New Zealand at three Winter Olympic Olympics: 2006, 2010 and 2014, as a skeleton athlete.
In addition to competing at the highest level, Ben has been active off the field of play managing the New Zealand skeleton program and working alongside the New Zealand Olympic Committee to deliver ‘winter’ focused projects.
Ben is committed to ‘giving back’ to sport by using his expertise and experience to benefit individuals and organisations enabling them to be the best they can be. As a qualified lawyer, Ben was an active member of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSSF), Vice President of Legal Affairs from 2014 -2018 and was an Athlete Rep for IBSF from 2014 -2018.
Ben has been an active and engaged member of the NZOC Athletes' Commission since 2010 and provides valuable input into the NZOC Integrity Committee. He is presently on a Sport New Zealand Government Task Force recommending a national structure and strategy for Integrity into the future.
Ben is the Chair of the WADA Athlete Committee, and has been on this Committee since 2012. By virtue of this appointment, Ben also sits on the board of WADA as well. Ben has been an integral link for New Zealand athletes of all sports with WADA and he has represented WADA with the highest integrity. He is active in the global active advocacy space and highly dedicated and credible.
Ben Sandford grew up in Rotorua and studied at Victoria University. Once he finished an LLM in international sports law through ISDE in Spain, Sandford moved back to New Zealand where he is now a Senior Solicitor in Rotorua.
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